Portugal’s parliament approved the first reading of a contentious rental-market overhaul on Wednesday, Sept. 30, seeking to speed up evictions and end rent controls on new leases. The centre-right government says legal uncertainty has left more than 250,000 homes empty and hopes the changes will encourage landlords to rent them out. The reform would cut the rent-arrears threshold for eviction from three months to two and allow landlords to evict tenants who repeatedly pay more than eight days late. It would also end this year’s 2% cap on rent increases for properties rented out within the previous five years. Portugal’s rents for new leases have nearly doubled since 2017, making housing unaffordable for many households. Tenants’ associations argue the reform would favour landlords and push rents higher. The measure passed after the far-right Chega party abstained, while all left-wing parties voted against it. Chega has said it wants to amend provisions before the final vote. The approach contrasts with neighbouring Spain, where the leftist government decreed on Tuesday that vulnerable tenants could not be evicted until 2030, alongside other measures amid protests over evictions and rising rents.